The Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham is celebrating after attaining the Small Business Charter silver Award – in recognition of the role it has played in helping to kick-start British enterprise.

The University of Birmingham has made an impressive 15 place rise to 62nd in this year's QS World University Rankings, cementing its position in the top 100 universities globally and placing it 10th in the UK.

The University of Birmingham and Manipal University in India have signed an agreement this month formalising educational links between the two institutions. The partnership will enable students to complete their first two years of study at Manipal then progress directly into year two at Birmingham.

Written by Dr Adrian Campbell. The apparent disappearance of Russian president Vladimir Putin between March 5 and 16 provoked a festival of Kremlinological speculation on a scale not seen since the temporary ousting of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the abortive coup of 1991.